| Swordquest | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Atari |
| Publisher(s) | Atari |
| Designer(s) | Dan Hitchens and Tod Frye |
| Platform(s) | Atari 2600 |
| Release date(s) | Earthworld: October 1982
Fireworld: February 1983 Waterworld: February 1983 (limited release) Airworld: Unreleased |
| Genre(s) | Adventure game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Media/distribution | Cartridge |
Swordquest is an unfinished series of video games produced by Atari in the 1980s as part of a contest. Each of the games came with a comic book that explained the plot, as well as containing part of the puzzle that had to be solved to win the contest. The series had its genesis as a possible sequel to Atari's groundbreaking 1979 title Adventure, but it quickly developed a mythology and system of play that was unique. The comic books were published by DC Comics, and were written by Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway, and drawn and inked by George Pérez and Dick Giordano.
The games of the Swordquest series (along with Atari 2600 Raiders of the Lost Ark) were some of the earliest attempts to combine the narrative and logic elements of the adventure game genre with the 'twitch' action gameplay of the action genre, making them some of the very first 'action-adventure' games. However, the series was unable to hold the last two contests, the grand finale contest and release the final game in the series due to Atari's financial problems leading up to and being a part of the Video Game Crash of 1983.
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Each installment in the series had essentially the same gameplay: logic puzzle adventure style gaming interspersed with arcade style action gaming. The character wanders through each screen, picking up and dropping items, playing simplified variants of current 'twitch' games of the time between screens. If the correct items are placed in a room, a clue shows up, pointing the player to a page and panel in the comic book included with the game. There, the player would find a word that was hidden in that panel. If the player found all five, or in the case of Waterworld, four, correct clues, they could send the sentence to Atari and have a chance to compete in the finals and win a prize. During the playoff, which ran on special versions of the games, the person who managed to find the most clues within 90 minutes would be considered the winner. The winners of the four game contests would go on to a final competition where they would compete for a sword valued at $50,000. This final round did not occur because Atari cancelled the contest shortly after the company was bought in 1984. The $50,000 sword is now suspected, but not known, to be owned by one of Atari's owners Jack Tramiel.
Earthworld was the first of the four games. Its room structure was based on the signs of the zodiac.
While the basic creative direction of the game was provided by Swordquest Lead Tod Frye, the game was coded by Dan Hitchens.
Sounds from Swordquest: Earthworld were used in the 2002 film Solaris directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring George Clooney. The sounds are used to represent the spaceship breaking up.
The plot of the games revolves around a pair of twins named Tarra and Torr. Their parents were slain by King Tyrannus's guards due to a prophecy given by the king's wizard Konjuro. The twins were then raised as commoners by thieves to avoid being slain by the king. When they go to plunder Konjuro's sea keep, they accidentally reveal their identities to him. The twins then start running from a demon summoned to kill them, but it appears that the jewel they stole attracts it. After smashing the stone to avoid the demon, two of Tyrannus's old advisers come out and tell the two about the "Sword of Ultimate Sorcery" and the "Talisman of Penultimate Truth." They are then transported, by method of pit, to Earthworld.
Out of 5,000 entries, only eight people managed to find all five of the correct clues. Of those eight, Steven Bell, who was 20 and lived near Detroit at the time, took first place and won the "Talisman of Penultimate Truth."
The Talisman was made of 18K solid gold, with 12 diamonds and the birthstones of the twelve Zodiac signs embedded in it, as well as a small sword made of white gold attached to the front. At the time of the contest, the Talisman was valued at $25,000. According to Fireworld winner Michael Rideout, Steven Bell had the Talisman, with the exception of the white gold sword, melted down and sold to a coin dealer.[1]
Fireworld's room structure was based on the tree of life.
After defeating many beasts of the Zodiac and another thief (Herminus) in Earthworld, the twins are transported to the "central chamber" where the "Sword of Ultimate Sorcery" and the "Talisman of Penultimate Truth" are kept. Upon reaching them, the sword burns a hole through its altar all the way to Fireworld.
In Fireworld, the twins split up to look for water, and Torr, with the aid of the talisman, summons Mentorr who shows Torr the "Chalice of Light," which will quench his thirst. The twins reunite eventually and find the chalice. However, Torr drops it after he is startled, and it is revealed that the one they found was not the true chalice. Herminus then gives them the chalice, and it grows until it becomes large enough to swallow the twins and transports them to Waterworld.
As there were more than the 50 planned participants, a much larger turn out than the previous contest, they held a second preliminary round where the contestants were told to write what they liked about the game. Out of the 50, Michael Rideout was the victor and received the "Chalice of Light."
The Chalice was made of gold and platinum and was adorned with citrines, diamonds, green jade, pearls, rubies, and sapphires. It was valued at $25,000 at the time of the contest; as of 2005, the Chalice is intact and still in Rideout's possession.
The room structure of Waterworld was based on the seven centers of chakra. It was originally released only through the Atari Club.
Upon reaching Waterworld, the twins become separated. Tara travels to a ship made of ice, somehow forgets her name, and meets Cap'n Frost, who desires to find the "Crown of Life" and rule Waterworld. Meanwhile, Torr travels to an undersea kingdom, forgets his name as well and meets the city's ex-queen Aquana, who desires to find the "Crown of Life" in order to regain her throne.
After a brief war between the ex-queen and captain, Herminus sets the twins to duel each other. They then pray to their deities for guidance, which summons Mentorr who allows them to regain their memories. The twins throw down their swords, causing the crown to be revealed and split in half. Each half is given to both the ex-queen and the captain, who then rule as equals. The "Sword of Ultimate Sorcery" then transports the twins to Airworld where they would have to do battle with King Tyrannus and Konjuro.
The contest for Waterworld was cancelled at the last minute. This is likely due to the economic struggles Atari had been facing during the video game crash of 1983. The two previous winners received $15,000 each and the winners of the preliminary round were each given $2,000.
The winner of this contest was supposed to receive the "Crown of Life," which was made of gold and encrusted with aquamarines, diamonds, green tourmalines, rubies, and sapphires. It was valued at $25,000 when the game came out. As the contest was never held, it is not known what became of the crown.
Airworld was never finished, though two prototypes are widely rumoured to exist. According to programmer Tod Frye, its room structure was going to be based upon the I Ching. Additionally, Tod Frye was planning on representing each room from 1 to 64 with a six-bit number. Each bit would control a different aspect of the rules for that room (e.g., whether the player had to avoid or capture the enemies, whether the enemies attacked or avoided the player, whether the player or the enemies moved fast or slow) but this concept never got out of the design phase, and yielded some unplayable combinations, such as a slow player that had to capture fast moving enemies that avoided the player.
The contest prize was a "Philosopher's Stone," which in this case was a large chunk of white jade in an 18K gold box encrusted with diamonds, emeralds, citrines, and rubies, valued at $25,000. The four winners of all four game contests were also supposed to compete for the "Sword of Ultimate Sorcery", a sword with a gold handle encrusted with jewels, and a gleaming pure silver blade which was valued at $50,000.